Taipei [Taiwan], June 1 : The Ministry for National Defence (MND) of Taiwan on Saturday detected nine Chinese military aircraft, and four Chinese Coast Guard vessels around Taiwan, Taiwan News reported.
According to the MND, among the nine People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, eight crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the southwestern portion of the nation's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).
In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor the PLA activity, as per Taiwan News.
The increased activity in the Taiwan Strait region comes amid growing geopolitical tensions between Taiwan and China, as reported by Taiwan News.
Taiwan has long been a point of contention for Beijing, which considers the island a renegade province and has repeatedly expressed intentions to reunify it with the mainland, even if by force.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has issued daily reports on Chinese military activities for the past few years, including identifying those Chinese aircraft, drones, and balloons that are found to have crossed the Taiwan Strait median line to the Taiwan side.
Since the start of May, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 463 times and naval/coast guard vessels 272 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan.
According to Taiwan News, Gray zone tactics are defined as "an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one's security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force."
Last week's drills were the largest China had conducted in more than a year, and they occurred just days after Taiwan swore in its new president, Lai Ching-te.
Lai Ching Te is openly despised by Beijing for promoting the island's sovereignty and distinct character."We urge relevant members of the US Congress to stop playing the "Taiwan card," stop interfering in China's internal affairs, stop supporting and conniving at "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, and stop undermining China-US relations and cross-Strait peace and stability," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
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